THE PILOT
REPORT
2004-2010 FREE
PILOT is a project created in 2004 in London, devoted to offer visibility to unrepresented artists. The method: Ask the best of the international art scene to endorse an artist who is not represented commercially-yet. PILOT then represent the nominated artists through its events and its archive. Just before its sixth anniversary, PILOT got under the scanner and got itself checked up with a big survey, to which 517 persons responded. THIS IS THE PILOT REPORT. Š PILOT / February 2010 / www.pilotlondon.org / info@pilotlondon.org / Supported by the Arts Council England / 10,000 copies
Zurich Master of Arts in Fine Arts The MA in Fine Arts at Zurich University of the Arts
The MA department is also home to two of ZHdK
(ZHdK) is aimed at opening up, promoting and
institutes dedicated to Fine Art theory and research,
strengthening the diverse strategies and methods
making it an ideal and vibrant space of networked
involved in artistic and media practices both
production and knowledge-sharing for teachers and
individual and collaborative.
students alike.
The structure of the course is a uniquely experimental
The MA in Fine Arts ZHdK is currently welcoming
framework, with a very strong international stance.
applications for the academic year starting next
Students are offered a space in which to produce,
September 2010.
develop and experiment, artistically and theoretically, while at the same time being able to pursue, confront
Deadlines:
and advance their ideas and core interests in a stimu-
Submission of application forms: March 26 2010
lating atmosphere of critical discussion and practice.
Submission of portfolio: April 16 2010
Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) Administration Ausstellungstrasse 60 CH-8031 Zurich master.ďŹ nearts@zhdk.ch www.zhdk.ch
Seestrasse 395, 8038 Zurich www.shedhalle.ch
68% THINK THAT ALL IN ALL PILOT IS BRILLIANT OR VERY GOOD
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT PILOT?
4% HAVE NEVER HEARD OF PILOT
Revolutionary 5% Nice 18% Utopian / Naïve 9%
I stumbled upon the website
I was invited to take part
5. TALKS
4. HARD-COPY ARCHIVE
2. EVENTS
3. PUBLICATIONS
I was told about it by a friend
1. ONLINE ARCHIVE
WHAT IS MOST SUCCESSFUL IN PILOT?
PROJECT
PILOT
PILOT began with the initial aim to present a platform for artists without commercial representation. It was meant as an alternative that would complement or maybe circumvent the boulimic necessity of the hugely powerful art fairs. The year of PILOT’s inception, 2004, was the second year of the Frieze Art Fair. We had a killer gimmick, the belief it was a good idea and a good dose of candor. So how did we do generally so far?
I was drawn by the publicity
THE VARIOUS IMPACTS PILOT HAD ON OTHER MECHANISMS REPRESENTING ARTISTS Should be more clandestine / viral
Should be more global
Should try to find new models of self-representation for artists
A welcome alternative Should become a commercial venture
*
Should appear in art fairs as a participant Inconsequential
Doesn’t generate enough interactivity
Cannot compete with the scale of art fairs
A necessary addition
Should promote artists’work in different contexts
*Should become a commercial venture
FREE
Cura
Galleries 1%
tors
%
WHO DO YOU THINK PILOT IS MOST USEFUL TO?
Students 5
81% FEEL PILOT HAS BEEN ADDING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE TO THE FIELD OF INSTITUTIONS AND ART FAIRS
THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT IN PILOT EVERYTHING IS PROVIDED FOR FREE
19% OT The PIL
The PILOT org P T he
anisers 9% 4% ors t a n i nom
ILOT
artists
37 %
Artists 25%
FREE
PROJECT | THE PILOT REPORT 03
PILOT EVENTS ATTENDENCE:
Confusing 1%
PILOT:1 LONDON 2004 PILOT:3 VENICE 2007 *
PILOT IN 101 ART FAIR TOKYO 2008
* PILOT IN 101 ART FAIR TOKYO 2008
PILOT ARCHIVE EN LA CASA MADRID 2007 PILOT AT DEPTFOD X LONDON 2008
PILOT:3 LONDON 2007
PILOT:2 LONDON 2005 PILOT AT THE WHARF RD PROJECT LONDON 2008
Brilliant 15% OK 20%
PILOT:1 EVENT SET-UP
Innovative 25%
Interesting 39%
PILOT
EVENTS
43% HAVE MADE PROFESSIONAL CONTACT THROUGH A PILOT EVENT LIMEHOUSE OLD TOWNHALL, LONDON, 2004
56% HAVEN’T
FARMILOES BUILDING, LONDON, 2005 MONASTERY OF ST DAMIEN AND ST COSIMO, LA GIUDECCA, VENICE, 2007
THE TRIANGLE SPACE, CHELSEA SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN, LONDON, 2007
HOW DO YOU RATE EACH PILOT’S CHOICE OF VENUE? 04 THE PILOT REPORT | EVENTS
PILOT:1 and PILOT:2 were set up as a meeting place where artists, curators and gallerists could meet. Each artist was showing a piece of work in a salon-type hang. The archive was available for free browsing in a dedicated space. There was always warm free coffee, and the focus was on the forum aspect of the event. For PILOT:3, we kept the meeting-place idea around the archive and talk programme, and switched to a catalogue format, which was intended as a longer-lasting directory of the participants. Did you come to any? Have you seen them? Did we conquer?
63%
THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THE NOMINATED ARTIST PRESENTING AN ACTUAL PIECE OF WORK AT A PILOT EVENT
Brilliant 16%
Brilliant 16% OK 28%
OK 19%
PILOT:2 EVENT SET-UP
PILOT:3 EVENT SET-UP
Innovative 22%
Innovative 17%
Interesting 36%
Interesting 42%
The PILOT website is the hub of all PILOT activities. It is home to an extensive online archive where visitors can find images and details about the work of the nominated artists, as well as info on their nominators. It is also where visitors can keep a log on everything PILOT has ever done, or is about to do. Do you click it?
WWW.PILOTLONDON.ORG 14% ARE UNAWARE OF THE PILOT WEBSITE... RLY 8%
... FOR THOSE AWARE, HOW OFTEN DO YOU LOOK AT IT?
REGULA
NEVER 18%
weird, isn’t it???
ONCE IN A WHILE 43%
NEWS 40%
ONLY WHEN I RECEIVE NEWS OR PUBLICITY ABOUT IT 35%
PILOT:3 ARCHIVE 20%
EVENTS 21%
WHEN LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE, ON WHICH PAGE DO YOU SPEND MORE TIME? ABOUT 5%
8%
PILOT:2 ARCHIVE 6%
PILOT:1 ARCHIVE 8%
THINK THE NAVIGATION OF THE PILOT WEBSITE IS REALLY BAD
...but 43% think it’s alright.. ..and 49% think it’s pretty damn good
WEBSITE
Confusing 2% Confusing 1%
Confusing 1%
PILOT
WEBSITE | THE PILOT REPORT 05
DAYS 2%
HOW LONG WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE EVER SPENT BROWSING THROUGH THE PILOT HARD-COPY ARCHIVE? MORE THAN 2 HOURS 22%
UP TO AN HOUR 60%
HOW USEFUL DO YOU RATE THE HARD-COPY ARCHIVE?
55% THINK THE PRESENTATION OF THE ARCHIVE WOULD BENEFIT FROM A MORE VISUAL PRESENTATION The PILOT: archive exists in two forms. There is a 'hard copy' archive of files and dossiers on each PILOT: artist, and an electronic archive accessible through the website. The hard-copy archive holds regularly updated documentation on each of the past and present nominated artists’ practices. It takes just under 24 meters of shelf-space, weighs 1/4 ton and is ultimately the only permanent physical thing PILOT holds. How to handle it is the question.
A FEW MINUTES 17%
very useful
a little bit useful
useless not very useful
useful
Why so negative?
“It is bulky and hard to access” “More visual approach would be better” “Unlikely it is up-to-date” “Impenetrable presentation” “Online is so much better”
86% THINK THE HARD-COPY ARCHIVE SHOULD BE TOURING INTERNATIONALLY, RATHER THAN STAY IN ONE PLACE, AND 70% WOULD LIKE IT TO VISIT AT LEAST TWO VENUES PER YEAR
WHAT BEST DESCRIBES THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THE HARD-COPY ARCHIVE?
II CHECKED PICKED FOLDERS RANDOMLY 39% OUT ARTISTS I HAD PREVIOUSLY HEARD ABOUT 14%
I WANTED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AN ARTIST I HAD JUST SEEN IN PILOT 16% I PROCEED ALPHABETICALLY 3%
I HAVE MY OWN LITTLE METHOD 28%
PILOT
ARCHIVE 06 THE PILOT REPORT | ARCHIVE
The online archive gives a snapshot of the content of the physical archive, including a contact facility at the bottom of each artist's page. This enables you to get in touch directly with any of the artists. PILOT: artists can update their own page at any time from any location via the Internet, and also link to their current projects.
To discover new artists 40% To check the work of someone I heard of To discover new curators
24%
93% HAVE NEVER USED THE
MESSAGE BOX ON EACH ARTIST’S PAGE, ENABLING ANYONE TO CONTACT THE ARTIST DIRECTLY
To see who nominated who 19%
17%
HOW USEFUL DO YOU FIND PILOT AS A RESOURCE?
a little bit useful 37%
WHAT DO YOU USE THE PILOT ONLINE ARCHIVE FOR?
17% HAVE WORKED WITH A PILOT ARTIST OR PILOT NOMINATOR AFTER DISCOVERING THEM THROUGH THE PILOT WEBSITE
useful 32%
useless 3% very useful 22%
not very useful 6%
WHEN LOOKING AT THE PILOT ONLINE ARCHIVE, WHAT DRIVES YOUR SEARCH?
35% The pictures
The name of the artist 23%
22% The name of the nominator
I click randomly 15% 3% Other I click alphabetically 2% ARCHIVE | THE PILOT REPORT 07
For each of the three PILOTs' pocket-size books, we asked a wide range of art-world practitioners to respond to three questions. These are deliberately direct, to emulate a wide range of reactions on a subject that tickled us at the time. In 2007, we also published a 352 page, full-colour and fully illustrated catalogue representing the PILOT:3 nominations: it showcases 85 international artists, each one introduced by his/her eminent nominator.
40%
WHICH PILOT QUESTIONS BOOK HAVE YOU READ? 34% 27%
HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE YOUR LITTLE BOOK’S COPY? I got it free 75% I read someone else’s copy 10% I got it as a present 8% I got it free I bought it 4%
GENERALLY, HOW DO YOU RATE THE QUESTIONS?
BESIDE THE POINT
Interesting
Beautiful and sweet
Incisive Intelligent
Beside the point Relevant Confusing /Confused
Annoying Hard to answer
GROUNDBREAKING
VERY INTERESTING
Cheeky
PASSABLE
A WASTE OF TIME
FUNNY
HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE YOUR CATALOGUE’S COPY?
BORING
I got it free 39% I read someone else’s copy 39% I got it as a present 5%
ENRICHING
I bought it 24%
HOW WELL DO YOU THINK THE PILOT:3 CATALOGUE REPRESENTS... TS? S I T R A E TH Not so well
Alright
T Well
Very well
MOST PEOPLE THINK THE PILOT:3 CATALOGUE IS A USEFUL TOOL, A NICE-LOOKING PUBLICATION, AN INTERESTING DIRECTORY 08 THE PILOT REPORT | PUBLICATIONS
Not so well
Alright
PUBLICATIONS
ENTERTAINING
RELEVANT
I stole it 3%
PATHETIC
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THESE LITTLE BOOKS?
S R O T A N I HE NOM Well
?
Very well
PILOT
PILOT
TALKS At each event hosted by PILOT, panel discussions and talks by artists, curators, gallerists, collectors, art critics and cultural theorists have been organised. Entry to these events has always been free. The topics of discussion have always been borne out of responses that we have received from visitors or participants to other PILOT events and the work that PILOT has undertaken, putting it into context and challenging opinions and attitudes about the politics of the art market, and the other institutions of the art world. It is also a mainstay of the ‘meeting place’ aspect of PILOT.
22% OF OUR RESPONDANTS HAVE ATTENDED A PILOT TALK WHAT MOTIVATED YOUR PRESENCE AT THE TALK?
HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE TALKS?
The panellists 35% Just curiosity 22%
The subject 25%
REALLY EXCITING 3%
I know you serve drinks afterwards 10%
INFORMATIVE 19%
INTERESTING 44%
ACADEMIC 22%
Better panellists
SHOULD WE DO MORE OF THEM? YES YES TWICE A YEAR OR MORE 47%
ONCE A YEAR 34%
Debate on more interesting subjects
More participation from the audience More convenient times
NO
IT’S RIGHT AS IT IS 19%
Invite celebrity moderator
CONFUSED / CONFUSING 9%
DULL 3%
Other 10%
Better sound system
Better drinks afterwards
WHAT COULD MOSTLY IMPROVE ON THE TALKS? TALKS | THE PILOT REPORT 09
PILOT
PILOT has developed a consistent yet subtly changing graphic identity for its event displays, website, publicity and publications. The only real brief was to never repeat ourselves. So, HOT? or NOT?
DESIGN HOW YOU RATE OUR DESIGN FOR...
PILOT:3 Venice 2007
PILOT little books 2004-08
PILOT:2 2005
PILOT:3 catalogue 2007
PILOT:1 2004 PILOT Archive in Madrid 2007 PILOT:3 London 2007
PILOT at Wharf Rd Project
PILOT publicity
PILOT website PILOT at Deptford X 2008
10 THE PILOT REPORT | DESIGN
WHICH OF THESE ADVERTISING APPROACHES THAT PILOT USED WAS MOST EFFECTIVE FOR YOU? Email newsletter
71% 10%
PILOT badges
1%
PILOT flyers
1%
Word of mouth Banner outside the building
16% 1%
IF PILOT HAD A PERMANENT LIBRARY SPACE FOR THE HARD-COPY ARCHIVE, 66% WOULD USE IT
YOU THINK MORE FREQUENT NEWSLETTERS 33% AND MORE PRESS REVIEWS 28% WOULD BEST IMPROVE PILOT'S PUBLICITY HOW REGULARLY SHOULD PILOT EVENTS TAKE PLACE?
PILOT
No event. Focus on archive 4%
Biennally 17% When the time is right, no pressure 33%
8. Sell PILOT on E-Bay
10. When showing the hard-copy archive, only show the most recent one
1. Invite guest curator to curate minishows with a selection of PILOT artists
7. PILOT as a clandestine armed wing
2. Launch a PILOT printed gazette with essays, interviews, reviews and listings related to all PILOT participants
4. PILOT on Facebook
67 45 3
8 9 10 9. PILOT on Twitter
2 1
3. Sell PILOT portfolios featuring original art prints from a selection of PILOT artists
IDEAS TO PROMOTE AND DEVELOP PILOT
5. Start a PILOT art collection by asking each PILOT artsist to donate a piece
TOP 10
6. Launch a PILOT blog
Yearly 46%
24% DON’T KNOW IF THEY ENJOYED ANSWERING THIS SURVEY OUR MOST TYPICAL RESPONDANT IS A SELF-EMPLOYED FEMALE ARTIST OF 30 WHO HAS NEVER BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN PILOT, LIVES IN THE UK AND QUITE ENJOYED ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.
FUTURE
E-Flux
PILOT has been established now for five years, and we have done various different types of events around the world, in different formats. Here we test a few ideas to help us make the most effective decisions for developing PILOT's work into the future, and ensure it remains relevant, timely and useful to it's participants and users. Thanks to all of you for answering these questions and to you for reading the answers.
CATALOGUE + EXHIBITION =
THE BEST COMBO FOR LAUNCHING FUTURE PILOTs FOR 84% OF YOU FUTURE | THE PILOT REPORT 11